What's in a name?

Well, many people have asked how we decided on the name Anna. Let me tell you, it was probably one of the hardest decisions we had to make during the whole pregnancy. After all, she is stuck with it for the rest of her life. Hopefully she'll love it! Hopefully she'll come to realize that we did not take this task lightly. There were many nights when we would just list of name after name.... probably several thousand.... and none just seemed to suit us.

One of the toughest problems was that we had decided we wanted to give her the middle name Kimberly. (For those of you who do not know, or who are not aware, Kimberly is the name of my twin sister. She is a big part of my life. She has helped shape who I am. So, we wanted to give her the honor of being named after her Aunt Kimmee.) Well, that brought on a whole new set of problems. Kimberly is a longer name... so I wanted a shorter name. I didn't like names that ended in an "e" sound either. And... the criteria could go on, an on. I also wanted a strong name, that would last through the ages... when she was a baby and on through adulthood. I wanted a name with meaning... or significance. We looked at plenty of Biblical names, but I just couldn't imagine naming my child something like Jezebel, or the like.

Well, about a month and a half ago, we were at our Bradley class, and our teacher had brought in a few baby name books. Since we hadn't settled on a name yet, I quickly snatched one up. Boy was it a doozy. (haha) It was titled "Baby Names from Around the World." Basically it had names categorized by nationality. There were Chinese names, Jewish names, Arabic names...etc. Well, I was looking at this book during our snack time, when Jeremy came over to me, and being funny... he said "the one one pages 74." So, being curious, I flipped to page 74. And wouldn't you know, it was the first page that started off "female, biblical names." I laugh, scanned the page and then saw "Anna"... it gave a brief description and where "Anna" could be found in the Bible.

In light of Christmas, I thought this post would be appropriate. Many people probably read the Christmas story in Luke 2 on or around Christmas (that's the tradition in our family). But, most people stop at "and Mary treasured these things in her heart." But, if you continue on down through the story, starting in verse 33 (Luke 2: 33) you will see that is where Jesus' parents take him to the temple. (Read for yourself)

^33-35Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,

This child marks both the failure and
the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
as God reveals who they really are.

^36-38Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.

So our sweet baby girl's name can be found in the Bible. She was the prophetess who after years of worshiping at the temple waiting for the Messiah, saw Him face to face. That is our prayer for our Anna. That one day she would in fact declare Jesus the Messiah, and make Him Lord of her life. Her name also means "grace, and favor." So, it had all that we wanted... good, strong... classic, and great meaning.

So... That folks is how the Lord blessed us with the name He wanted for our beautiful baby girl!

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!!

37 weeks... err.... 1 week old

What. A. Whirlwind!

I still cannot believe that instead of having the typical week by week pregnancy update, I now will have a week by week baby update. It still just seems unreal that we have her here with us. Sometimes I just feel like I will just wake up and realize it was all a dream.

To sum up our week, it has been busy... and a week of adjustments. God has been so good to us. Even though some days seemed to drag on, with very little change from day to day (except for who visited us on a given day)... the week has also flown by.

Our days pretty much consist of (at this point) the cliche: eating, sleeping and pooping. :-) But really, she is such a joy. We've sort of fallen into a good steady routine for the most part.

This is how our week went....
Friday night, obviously, we had precious Anna, so... that was the excitement of the day!!
Saturday was filled with the "what now?" type of adjustments. Filled with some visitors, and vital signs being checked, and naps on and off. (More off than on, though.) Sunday evening we spent most of it at the hospital waiting to be discharged... and we got home around 8:45. Our first night home, wasn't too bad. She slept on and off, and Jer and I tag-teamed it really well. My dad came over on Monday to help out, hold the baby, and let me sleep... so that was nice, especially since Jer went into work for a few hours. My mom came on Monday night and stayed with us to help out. Bless her heart, Anna gave her a run for her money. She definitely didn't sleep very well. :-( Tuesday, dad came over again... and I took a good nap, again. We had a few visitors as well. Wednesday we had our first visit with the pediatrician. Anna checked out well, but they noticed her bilirubin levels were a little high (jaundice). So, Wednesday night we had a little glow worm baby because she had to sleep on the Bili-blanket (which is more of a belt, really) all night. Thursday, we went back to the lab to have a blood sample taken. The Lord answered our prayers, and her bilirubin levels were low enough that she didn't have to stay on the Bili-blanket. Friday, we went back for yet another lab to be taken for the sweet princess (she did well with the sticks, really... I had Jer take her back while I went for a little walk). We still haven't heard about the labs, so hopefully we can assume her levels are continuing to go down. Friday night also brought about our first Christmas gathering with family... namely out of state cousins of which I haven't seen in a few years. Lots of fun. Anna was definitely spoiled by her Auntie and the others who held her so sweetly while I talked, and ate.

We are very excited to celebrate Christmas this Sunday with our new family of 3, as well as my family. It is sad, that we will be unable to celebrate with Jer's side of the family on Christmas Eve since we aren't supposed to be traveling more than an hour away (she didn't pass her car seat test... a 90 minute test that checks the vitals of premies while riding in the car seat). But next year, with our 1 year old, we will definitely have fun celebrating.

Well, that's about it, I know this is sort of rambling... but once I figure out how i want to organize posts about Anna, then I will not ramble nearly as much. (But I didn't want to forget our first week as parents.)

For now.. that's all I've got. Gotta go get some sleep before our next feeding session.

Thanks for checking in on us.

Wanna make a meal??

I found this awesome site in a magazine. Since a bunch of people have asked if they could make a meal for us, I've decided to give this a try. So, feel free to click on the link, and give it a try. If it doesn't work, and you want to make a meal call/email/text/facebook etc. and we'll give you a good day. Thank you in advance!

Flatt-family of 3!

Click Here

36 week picture...

This is what our 36 week "bump" picture looked like.... :-)

36 weeks!

Your baby is the size of a Crenshaw melon, and this week dimples are forming at his elbows and knees as his body grows rounder.

Baby's Length: 18.66 in.

Baby's Weight: 5.78 lbs.

Our baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Our baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, our baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly. Of course, the last 2 appointments, the midwife has thought that she is head down. So, hopefully there will be no need for this coaxing.

I remember when it was a few weeks ago when we had a small simple goal of "make it another 3 weeks." Now it just seems like that was a long long time ago. Hahaha... instead of just a month ago. I am thankful and grateful each day for our little darling. I am so thankful for the days she is very active and kicking and pushing on my rib cage. (When she's less active it just stresses me out. Rightfully so, right?)

I will be posting this on Thursday night (the eve of 36 week day), because tomorrow will be very busy. We do have a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, so I'm hoping that we'll get a little bit of info on how we are doing together, Jellee and I. Hopefully, we'll hear the words "progress," or maybe even the word "dilated." hehehe... While I am not uncomfortable at all (except for some random pains), I am just getting very very very excited to meet our little darling. So, that's where I'm at at this point. I will also try to post a picture of the 36 week baby belly picture. Soo... be on the look out.

All right, well that is about it for now. Thanks for checking in on us. If there is any news of progress, I will try to post it in with the picture. Soo.. here's to hoping!!

35 weeks!

Your baby is the size of a honeydew melon, and he's now able to suck a nipple.

Baby's Length: 18.19 in.

Baby's Weight: 5.25 lbs.

Our baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in my womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight. At this point, our unborn baby should be positioned with her head facing down (which according to the last two visits...she was/is.). About 97 percent of babies have adopted this position by this point; the rest remain in what's known as breech position -- when the butt or feet are in place to come out first.

How far along? 35 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Not quite sure... think we're about 15 pounds now. YIKES!
Maternity clothes? yep!
Stretch marks? not that I've seen
Sleep: Other than getting up at night for a bathroom run... sleep this week has actually been GREAT! Still dealing with the numbness, but... it's ok. I enjoy being lulled to sleep by soft (or not so soft) kicks... and being greeted each morning with kicks as well. I have gone back to regularly taking an afternoon nap... it's been a few weeks since I "needed" a nap. I haven't taken one every day this week, but if I'm home around 2-5ish... you can bet that somewhere in there there is an hour-ish block of time that is getting a nap. And boy are those wonderful!!
Best moment this week: baby shower!! It was wonderful, and everything went so well. I am so thankful for the special ladies in my life who love us enough to throw us such a great party!
Movement: She still kicks a lot, but definitely not doing the somersaults any more... which I miss. Sometimes she'd hit an interesting spot, and it would actually tickle.
Food cravings: Anything...
Gender: Girl!!! And now, after the 3d ultrasound, I'm convinced... but... we'll just have to wait and see!!
Name: We talked about a name, randomly, that we didn't hate. (<--Our random name from a few weeks ago, is really growing on me... could it be??) :-) Either way, we will probably not be announcing it until she is really here.
Labor Signs: Nope... at least not that I know of... definitely getting some random tightening which I have been told are the great Braxton Hicks contractions... but, honestly, if I'm not sitting still, I do not notice them.
Belly Button in or out? In, but definitely flattening out. I'm pretty sure it will stay in though at this point.
What I miss: sleeping on my stomach, Starbuck's Chai Tea Latte, eating carbs during the day

What I am looking forward to: Meeting the little princess... and getting the thank you cards from our shower done... not necessarily in that order though. I am also looking forward to the day when our large pile of thank you cards are all done! I am also looking forward to Jer's graduation on the 18th... so about a week and a half from now!!

Weekly Wisdom: Savor this time...

Well, it has been a calm week here. Most of the week our house was in total disarray due to the stuff from our shower last Saturday and the lack of motivation or desire to move it all to the babies room. I have been working pretty hard (for the most part) on meeting my daily quota of thank you notes each night. This is our off-week for our doctors' appointments... so we didn't have to go. That was a good thing, and I even welcomed the break. I've worked some this week, with a full working weekend ahead of me. The next few weeks will be very busy... and that doesn't include if I were to spontaneously go into labor. Hahaha...

Other than that, we're just taking inventory of things that we still need for the baby... which at this point isn't much that we "need" just more a few things that we'd like to make our lives a little easier. I did spend a good portion of time organizing and cleaning things from the shower, so... hopefully we'll get a handle on things.

Anyway, I know this is a super boring post... because this week has been very uneventful. (Which is good in light of how busy the next few weeks will be.)

Everyone, have a great, great week ahead!!

As always, thanks for checking in on us....

34 weeks!!

Your baby is the size of a cantaloupe, and her main job now is simply to continue plumping up.

Baby's Length: 17.72 in.

Baby's Weight: 4.73 lbs.

Our baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder (and no doubt about that... remember those chubby cheeks from last week's ultrasound?!). Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Our baby is preparing for her arrival in just a few short weeks! This week, the protective vernix caseosa (that cheese-like, white, waxy coating that's keeping her skin safe) begins to thicken, ensuring that her birthday suit stays smooth and well-moisturized during D-day. Our baby will likely arrive covered in the stuff, especially in the folds under her arms, behind her ears, and in the groin area. But it'll all be washed off very shortly after birth -- during her first-ever bath.

How far along? 34 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Not quite sure... think we're about 15 pounds now. YIKES!
Maternity clothes? yep!
Stretch marks? not that I've seen
Sleep: Other than getting up at night for a bathroom run... sleep this week has actually been GREAT! Still dealing with the numbness, but... it's ok. I enjoy being lulled to sleep by soft (or not so soft) kicks... and being greeted each morning with kicks as well. I have gone back to regularly taking an afternoon nap... it's been a few weeks since I "needed" a nap. I haven't taken one every day this week, but if I'm home around 2-5ish... you can bet that somewhere in there there is an hour-ish block of time that is getting a nap. And boy are those wonderful!!
Best moment this week: Getting the "okay" to only test my blood sugar twice a day, as opposed to the 4 times I day I have done for the last 3 weeks. My fingers are enjoying this time off.
Movement: Lots! Pretty much any time I'm sitting/laying still. Sometimes I don't even have to be THAT still either. She has been sleeping like a champ (although sometimes that makes me paranoid that something's the matter). Yesterday when we went to the doctor we got a (now seemingly routine) monitoring of the baby for about an hour. She was moving some, but definitely sleeping. They woke her up.... and boy did that tick her off. I think I experienced our daughter's very first temper tantrum! It was highly amusing, nonetheless.
Food cravings: Anything...
Gender: Girl!!! And now, after the 3d ultrasound, I'm convinced... but... we'll just have to wait and see!!
Name: We talked about a name, randomly, that we didn't hate. (<--Our random name from a few weeks ago, is really growing on me... could it be??) :-) Either way, we will probably not be announcing it until she is really here.
Labor Signs: Nope... at least not that I know of... definitely getting some random tightening which I have been told are the great Braxton Hicks contractions... but, honestly, if I'm not sitting still, I do not notice them.
Belly Button in or out? In, but definitely flattening out. I'm pretty sure it will stay in though at this point.
What I miss: sleeping on my stomach, Starbuck's Chai Tea Latte, eating carbs during the day.
What I am looking forward to: Baby shower #2. I'm excited to see all my friends and family. I am humbled at how many people wanted to come out and join us for our festive occasion. I am also looking forward to the special honor of having my sister fly in from Virginia just to be here for the shower. Jellee is very excited to hear her auntie.
Weekly Wisdom: Savor the final weeks of being pregnant... before I know it she will be here. Time does fly when you're having fun. I find it crazy that I'm 34 weeks already... and even more crazy that in just a short time our little princess will be here with us!!


This week has been a pretty good week in general. I have loved, loved, loved feeling our little dear kick. Some nights I can only describe her as a crazy girl! I can definitely tell she is a sleeper... at least an in-the-womb-sleeper. There are definite times where she is VERY active, and definite times where she isn't as much. This week we got a complementary baby monitoring at the doctor's office... just to check on the little dear. She had a great steady heart rate. But wasn't moving a ton.... so after an hour they used this noisy vibraty thing (sorry, princess!) to "wake her up." And BOY DID IT!! I think we had about 7 detected movements (by me, not just the monitor those detected her every wince.) in an hour... and I think in 5 minutes, we had upwards of 30 movements! As my sister-in-law said, I experienced my daughters very first temper tantrum. I know it's not cute when they're having a tantrum in a store, or at home... but I was highly amused by this display of annoyance. (Sorry, beautiful!)

Tomorrow, is our second baby shower. It may be fairly large.... I'm just so excited to see all the people who are near and dear to us. I am sooo grateful to the friends who are putting it on for us. They are such a blessing to our family!! I will try to post pictures from this shower... as long as we get batteries. Last week, we made some major progress on the baby's room. We washed all the current clothing that we had, only to discover that we had about 5 complete outfits for the 0-3 month range, and about 6 for the 3-6 month range. haha... crazy... but apparently pants are an afterthought of clothing purchase. So, hopefully we'll get a few more pants that can act as "staples" (ie jeans, or solids etc...) tomorrow. If not, then we'll just have to hit up the amazing children's consignment shop. Soo.. we'll see. I am totally trusting that the Lord knows our needs, and will provide exactly what we need at the right time. I am SOOOO looking forward to tomorrow.